Save the date

With wedding planning, if I check one thing off the list, then it is immediately onto the next task. (Although, more often than not, I have like five different tasks up in the air.)

Some of these tasks are more challenging — Take for example the guest list.

Other items on the to-do list present opportunities for fun, bonding experiences — Take for example the “Save the Date” cards.

Apparently, the whole save the date concept is pretty new to weddings. According to my parents and Dan’s parents, people would only send out the formal invitations a couple of months before the wedding…

Not as though I like spending excess money on something, but I definitely see value in creating save the date cards. This is particularly because Dan (a native Texan) and I (a native Michiganian, then Ohioan and Nebraskan) are inviting a lot of people from out-of-town.

By giving our invitees extra advance notice, we are hoping they will have enough time to book hotels, transportation, etc. Plus, because the wedding is in the middle of the summer (aka, middle of busy vacation season), the save the dates will help people know when not to schedule other trips.

Basically, making the decision to do a save the date was a no-brainer. But, what exactly to put on the save the date is a whole ‘nother story.

After looking through some options, Dan and I decided to want to go with a picture-postcard. That way, everyone can see our pretty faces and remember exactly who “Emily” and “Daniel” are.

The problem was that Dan and I are yet to take out engagement pictures. Hmm…

Fortunately, my dad is a good photographer, so I asked him if he could take a few shots for Dan and me to chose from.

Unlike Goldilocks, it took us more than three tries to get it right. Here are a few samples…

1. I feel like I’m a little too cut off.

2. I like the picture, but not the cars in the background.

3. We do have senses of humor, but I don’t want to seem just too crazy/weird.

After flipping through all the (many more) pictures about 10 times, I narrowed it down enough to personalize a few templates.

First I went to “Wedding Paper Divas,” which is a really cute, user-friendly invitation design website. In similar fashion as when I was picking out pictures, I scanned through all the options multiple time. But the rigid formats weren’t really impressing me…

Feeling frustrated, I decided to try my hand at designing my own — And I’m actually pretty happy with the results!

Now, I want you to voice your opinions by telling me what I should do: Go with Option A, Option B or none of the above.

Option A.

Option B. Note: You can actually see the wording better in actual size.

I loveeee that you’re posting about wedding planning… i love all things wedding! You’re so creative, i’m really impressed with your ability to create your own save-the-dates! And I do think it’s a smart idea to have them…

[…] I probably would have just booked the first caterer I found in the yellow pages, never known about save the dates and ended up with a totally chaotic event. Instead, I feel like I’ve been delicately guided […]